Solo Leveling: Ragnarok

useum of Art while listening to Instructor Lim’s explanation.

“Am I really coming back here again?”

Suho reminisced as he looked up at the museum, which had been destroyed by Vera.

The purpose of coming here today was nothing other than to become a miner.

Except for the Shadow Dungeon, it was Suho’s first time in a real dungeon, so he had agreed to receive Instructor Lim’s help.

“Oh, by the way, all classes in school have been converted to online until the dungeon is completely cleared.
Since you’ve become a hunter, you’ll be taking a leave of absence, of course.”

“That’s right.
Anyway, the exhibition is over, and this semester is almost over too.”

“Okay.
I’ll go to the TA office and apply for Hunter leave separately.
Should we start now?”

TA Lim looked at Sooho with a full of enthusiasm.

From his eyes, Sooho felt the force of an experienced senior.

“Hehe.
Today, I will teach you about the wise life of E-class hunters! First, let’s talk about miners!”

[He’s complaining about such a trivial thing.]

“Huh?!”

Suddenly, Ver popped out of Sooho’s shadow.

TA Lim was startled and stumbled.

“A, monster?!”

Ver looked down at TA Lim with a trivial gaze and murmured.

“Tsk, you’re so easily scared.
Your Highness, I know much better what a hunter is.
You should learn from me instead.”

Then, Ver flew out from behind Sooho and spread his short arms wide, shouting grandly.

“A hunter is a born hunter! They slaughter and dominate their enemies, and eat them up! That is the essence of being a hunter.
So, kill and kill again to gain all that strength… Huh?”

Sooho’s hand grabbed Ver, who was glowing, like a baseball.

“Why did you come out suddenly?”

“I felt the dungeon’s energy nearby.
Right now, Your Highness is weak and vulnerable like a helpless caterpillar.
I must stick by your side and protect you.”

Ver’s body stretched and squirmed, and then he slipped out of Sooho’s hand and landed on his shoulder.
The mini-Ver on Sooho’s shoulder began to glare fiercely, watching the surroundings.

“But Suho is not fooled anymore.

‘He’s probably just going to stand by and watch when we actually fight.’

At that moment, Assistant Lim regained his senses and cautiously pointed at Beru.

“Suho, is that thing a summoned creature?”

[No.]

Beru replied firmly instead of Suho.

Strictly speaking, Beru was not Suho’s summoned creature, but his father’s.

“If it’s not a summoned creature, then what is it…?”

Even Assistant Lim, who had already been pushed back in the first round of the fight, inadvertently used honorifics.

Beru’s eyes flickered intensely.

[I am a nanny.]

“…a nanny?”

Assistant Lim raised his head in confusion.

[Yes.
By human standards… I’m like a kind of uncle.]

“…?”

[Hehe.
There were times like that.]

What is this thing saying?

Beru looked at Suho’s face wistfully, murmuring incomprehensible sounds.

Ignoring Beru, Assistant Lim asked Suho directly.

“Did you awaken as a summoning hunter?”

“Yes, I guess so.”

“Hmm.
That’s impressive.
You’re the first E-rank summoner I’ve seen.”

Assistant Lim stopped talking.

There’s no need to mention how low-ranking Summoning Hunters are.

And to think that an E-rank Hunter would have a summoning skill.

“It’s a minor of a minor.”

Assistant Lim glanced at Beru, who was standing on Suho’s shoulder.

He was just surprised when he suddenly appeared a little while ago, but now that he’s seeing Beru’s cute appearance up close…

‘It’s useless, isn’t it?’

[That look is very disrespectful.
Should I pluck them out for you?]”

“….”

Assistant Lim glanced at him slightly.

Still, the summoner seemed to be quick-witted enough to be careful, judging by his swift perception.

Moreover, since he could converse, he might be unexpectedly useful?

“Ahem.
There are many E-class hunters without skills, but you’re lucky.
By the way, I have a running skill.”

“I see.
That’s why you were good at running away.”

“….”

Suho’s innocent remark hurt Lim’s feelings.

It hurt even more because it was true.

***

So Suho became a miner with Lim’s recommendation.

“All right! Let’s work hard today too!”

The mining team, consisting of E-class hunters, was practically a construction site labor atmosphere.

“Hey, newbie! Come get a pickaxe.”

Chuk.

The dungeon pickaxe, now in Suho’s hand.

The uncle who was handing out the pickaxes gave Suho a friendly smile and said,

“If you break it while working, come back and get another one from me.
But be careful because the cost of the pickaxe will be deducted from your daily wage.
Still, you’re amazing for a young friend.
You’re a student at this school?”

“Yeah, he’s that guy.”

Surprisingly, most of the miners recognized Suho and approached him first with friendly greetings.

“It’s because of that news.”

Suho smiled wryly as he recalled the news that had been posted on the internet yesterday and today.

The title was “Korean University’s Hero Becomes an E-Class Hunter.”

It was a vague news that was neither praise nor insult.

It was because if he had become a hero of the art museum as a civilian, he would have received a brave citizen’s award, but since he had awakened in the middle of it and became a mere hunter, that’s what he had become.

However, as a hunter, he received the lowest rank, so it was a somewhat ambiguous situation in the eyes of others.

But even that situation seemed to work in favor of these old men.

“Hehe.
What a shame.
If I had awakened and got a higher rank or two, my status would have been much different.”

“Don’t be too upset about your low rank~ We’re doing well enough ourselves, right?”

“Right, right.
Although our bodies are a bit worn out, if we’re good at digging with a pickaxe, we don’t need any special skills, so how great is that?”

They were all eager to give advice to Suho, who had just joined as a fresh and promising recruit.

And Beruga really didn’t like this heartwarming atmosphere.

“My lord, rather than wasting time chatting with these ignoramuses, why don’t you go level up or something? Time is precious, after all.”

“Oh! Is this a summoned creature?”

“Kya.
I’ve never seen a creature like this before.”

“If you bring it around with you, it’ll be cute.”

“It’s too small to be of any use in mining, though.”

The miners gathered in amazement at the sight of Beruga suddenly appearing.

Beruga, on the other hand, growled fiercely and breathed out a warning to them.

“Oh, don’t come any closer, you rude guys! Our lord is weak, and if I hit you, you could die! My lord, don’t worry.
I’ll protect you!”

“…?”

Suho looked at Beruga with suspicion.

Was this overprotectiveness, or was he just playing along?

“Hahaha.
Your summoned creature is reliable.”

“Well, then let’s go do some work too.”

The miners dispersed, laughing and joking with their picks, surrounding Beruga with their cuteness(?).

At the sight of this, Suho suddenly had a good idea.

“Beruga.”

“Yes, my lord.
If you give me orders, I will chop off the necks of those impure scum.”

“…Don’t do that.”

“Then what command do you have for me?”

“Bring out some goblin corpses from the Shadow Dungeon.”